Book casing-in machine



April 24,, 1951 J. A. E. BURLS 2,549,890

' BOOK CASING-IN MACHINE Filed Jan. '7, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR fl. M 5) MWI LMA, ATTORNEY April 24, 1951 J. A. BURLS BOOK CASING-IN MACHINE I 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. '7, 1948 v 7 mm B INVENTOR 4.6M

5r )Jfl ATTORNEY April 24, 1951 J. A. E. BURLS 2,549,89

BOOK CASING-IN MACHINE Filed Jan. '7, 1948 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 lNvENTOR Patented Apr. 24, 1951 BOOK CASING-IN MACHINE John Albert Edward Burls, Kenton, England, as-

signor to R. Hoe & Co. Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application January '7, 1948, Serial No. 845 In Great Britain July 3, 1946 Section 1, Public Law 690, August 8, 1946 Patent expires July 3, 1966 15 Claims.

This invention relates to mechanism to effect the filling of the covers of books in a bookbinding machine.

The main object of this invention is to enable the rate of production of filled book-covers to be increased so as to enable a general increase in the rate of production of books to be effected.

According to this invention preformed bookcovers are stacked one on another and are folded over so that their hinge part and one leaf of the cover overlie the other leaf with the result that the edge of one leaf of the cover extends beyond the edge of the other leaf. The floor of the hopper is afforded a shelf or lip which supports the extending part of the first leaf so that the second leaf of the lowermost cover swings down aboutv the hinge to lie in the path of what are commonly termed fillers, i. e. assembled signatures forming the matter to be bound, the fillers being advanced in succession to the hopper. Thus, as filler is advanced below the hopper it will pass into the cover over the second (lower) leaf ofv the cover and up to the hinged back and then by continuin in continuous movement it will draw the cover out of the hopper and away from the shelf, the first leaf of the cover closing down on the filler. As the filler and the cover pass clear of the hopper the next cover follows down in readiness for the succeeding filler and so on.

The second leaf of the cover above the lowest cover in the hopper may be controlled at the hinge end by a control plate which is moved into and out of position below the cover in step with the feed of the fillers. lead for the oncoming fillers, the feed board or table over which the'fillers pass can be locally notched to enable the lower leaf of the-lowermost cover to swing to a position below the feed level of the fillers.

The fillers can be advanced by pushers which not only feed the fillers to the covers but continue thereafter to advance the filled covers between forwarding rollers which may be notched to accommodate the bulge of the hinged part of the cover.

To cause the filled covers to be taken away from the pushers the feed rollers would be driven at a speed such that when the filled covers pass under'their control they are drawn away from the pushers and from the followingfillers.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Figures 1-3 are diagrammatic views illustrating thedifferent stages in a filling operation in accordance with this inven- To provide an improved tion, while Figures 4-7 are views of a machine to carry the invention into practical effect, Figure 4 being a longitudinal sectional elevation, Figure 5 a plan view, and Figures 6 and 7 detail views to a scale larger than that of Figures 4 and 5.

Referring firstly to Figures 1-3, the reference I indicates generally a magazine in which are stacked, one above another, preformed bookcovers in such manner that one leaf 2 and the hinge 3 of each cover overlie the other leaf t, so that the edge of the upper leaf 2 extends beyond the edge of the leaf 4.

The magazine I is provided with control ledges 5, 6 which conjointly control the covers in such manner that one at a time is released and presented in the opened condition to oncoming fillers indicated at 1. For this purpose, the ledge 5, which is fixed in position is disposed to engage the lowermost cover at that part of the upper leaf 2 which extends beyond the edge of the leaf 3. The other ledge 5 is movable intermittently to enable the hinge 3 and the leaf 4 to drop below it with the result that, the leaf 2 being held by the weight of the covers above it, the other leaf 4 lies on a support 8 forming part of a feed table 9 along which the fillers 1 advance. This is the position of the parts which is indicated in Figure 1 which may be regarded as the starting position of the cycle of operations. It Will be seen that, the ledge 6 having released the lowermost cover, is in position to retain, in conjunction with the ledge 5, the next cover and those above it.

The lowermost cover, being in the position shown in Figure l, is in an open condition to receive the filler l as it is advanced by a pusher ill. To facilitate the entry of the filler into the opened cover, the level of the support 8 is below the general level of the table 9 as is shown.

The filler i being advanced from the position shown in Figure 1 to the position shown in Fig ure 2 causes the spine of the filler to move against the hinge 3 of the cover. At this time the ledge 6 is moved to clear the next cover so that as the pusher l3 advances to carry thefiller from the position shown in Figure 2 to the position shown in Figure 3, not only is the new filled lowermost cover removed from the magazine but also the next cover is released to assume the startin position in readiness to receive the next filler indicated at l.

Thus, the covers having been placed in the magazine l the mer operation of feeding fillers in succession causes the covers to be filled and removed from the magazine.

The machine is utilised to effect a securing of the fly or outer pages of the fillers to the inner faces of the leaves of the covers; for this purpose the pushers H) advance the fillers between pasting rollers H, i2 which apply an adhesive (preferably paste) to the fly pages as the fillers pass into the covers; in addition, the pushers, in continuing their movement to remove the filled covers from the magazine advance the filled covers between the pressure rollers l3, M which apply sufiicient pressure to effect adhesion between the cover and its filler and at th same time advance the filled covers; these rollers 13, I4 are notched at l3, N to accommodate the bulge of the hinged part 3 of the cover.

In order to enable the fillers 7 to be pressed by the pushers l0 well into the covers and up to their spines or hinges 3, a device is provided to impede the movement of the covers from the magazine. For this purpose, there is provided an abutment 3 in the form of a roller which is carried by a lever 3 pivoted at 3 and held resiliently in impeding position by a spring 2 This lever is controlled by a cam 3 operated in synchronism with the pushers ii]. The cam allows the roller 3' to take the position shown in Figure 1 while a pusher I0 is advancing a filler i into a cover. Then the filler having been advanced so that its edge is pressed against the spine or hinge 3 of the cover held by the roller 3 the cam moves the lever 33 to cause the roller to lie below the table 9 and so to clear the filled cover which then proceeds, the position of the lever 3 at this time being indicated in Figure 2. The earn 3 then operates to return the lever as shown in Figure 3 to its original position to offer impedance to the next cover and so on.

It will be clear that the whole operation being one of continuous progression can be carried out at a relatively high speed.

Reference will now be made to Figures 44 in which those parts corresponding to the parts shown in Figures 13 bear corresponding reference numerals. The pushers iii are in the construction shown carried at intervals by chains 55 of which only one is shown and the chains pass about chain wheels Hi, I! of which the wheel I? is driven by a chain l8 from a chain wheel l9 on a main drive shaft 2G.

Th pushers l0 are, as is shown most clearly in Figure 6, provided with thin penetrating blades 2| which (as the pushers advance to take the fillers) first penetrate between pages thereof and so operate to hold the fillers down to the table 9, the blades 2% being set at their leading edges at an angle as seen in Figure 5 to facilitate their entry into the filling.

The ledges 6 which are required to be moved intermittently are as is seen most clearly in Fig ure '7, in the form of slides which are mounted on guides 22 and are arranged to be reciprocated into and out of holding position by a lever 23 pivoted at 24 and arranged to be rocked by an electro-magnet 25 the circuit of which is controlled by a switch S having an arm S which is engaged by the passing of a filler 1 towards the magazine I. The function of the switch is not only to cause the ledg 6 to be operated at the proper time but also to prevent operation and thus to prevent release of a cover if for any reason a filler is not taken by the pusher i5 1 which is moving next to the magazine.

The pasting roller H takes its supply of paste from a feed roller 26 engaging a trough roller 2'! running in a trough 28 containing a supply of paste. Similarly the pasting roller l2 takes its paste from a trough roller 29 running in a trough 30. Drive to one or other of these various rollers can be effected, as through a chain 3| driven by a chain wheel 32 on the main drive shaft 20 and the rollers H and I2 would obviously be mounted for adjustment to handle fillers of different thickness.

The pressure rollers l3 and M are rotated by a chain 33 driven by a chain wheel 34 on the main drive shaft 28, thus driving the roller l4, which in turn drives the roller i3 through idler gears 35. The pressure roller l3 would be mounted for vertical adjustment to deal with fillers of different thickness.

The magazine I itself would be adjustable to accommodate more or less snugly covers of different sizes but it is believed unnecessary to illustrate details of the adjustments of the rollers and of the magazine. As an example however, it may be pointed out that adjustment of the upper pasting roller assembly can be effected through screws 37 operating in the frame 38 of the machine, the assembly being guided by guide rods 39.

What I claim is:

1. Apparatus comprising in combination a magazine capacitated to receive book-covers in super-posed relation with one leaf and the hinge overlying the other leaf, two spaced supports to hold the lowermost cover, one support engaging the cover by the overlapping part of its said one leaf and the other support engaging the cover at a part other than the said one leaf, means to move the said other support intermittently into and out of supporting position to free the hinge and the other leaf, and means to move a filler between the freed hinge and other leaf on the one hand and the said one leaf on the other hand.

2. Apparatus comprising in combination a magazine capacitated to receive book-covers in super-posed relation with one leaf and the hinge overlying the other leaf, two spaced supports to hold the lowermost cover, one support engaging the cover by the overlapping part of its said one leaf and the other support engaging the cover at a part other than the said one leaf, a feed table below the magazine, means to move the said other support intermittently into and out of supporting position to free the hinge and the other leaf to cause the other leaf to pass to the feed table, and means to advance a filler along the feed table and between the said one leaf and the other leaf and up to the hinge of the cover.

3. Apparatus comprising in combination a magazine capacitated to receive book-covers in super-posed relation with one leaf and the hinge overlying the other leaf, two spaced supports to hold the lowermost cover, one support engaging the cover by the overlapping part of its said one leaf and the other support engaging the cover at a part other than the said one leaf, a feed table below the magazine, means to move the said other support intermittently into and out of supporting position to free the hinge and the other leaf to cause the other leaf to pass to the feed table, and means to advance a filler along the feed table and past the magazine to carry the filler into the cover and to remove the cover with the filler from the magazine.

4. Apparatus comprising in combination a magazine capacitated to receive book-covers in super-posed relation with one leaf and the hinge overlying the other leaf, two spaced supports to hold the lowermost cover, one support engaging the cover by the overlapping partof its said one leafand theother support engaging'the cover at apart other than thesaid one leaf, a feed table below the magazine, means to move the'said other support intermittently into and out of supporting position to free the hinge and the other leaf to cause the other leaf to pass to the feed table, means to advance a filler along the feed'table and past the magazine tocarry the filler into the cover and to remove the cover with the filler from the magazine and means to impedemov-ement of the cover along the feed table.

5. To feed fillers into book covers, apparatus comprising i-incombination a cover magazine capacitated to receive covers in super-posed relationship with one leaf and-the hinge overlying the'other leaf-,spaced supports to supportcovers by engagement one-by the lowermost cover at its extending part of its said one leaf and the other at a part other than the said one leaf, means to advance fillers past the magazine in sequence below it, means to move the said other support out of supporting position to permit the hinge and the other leaf to fall from the magazine and means to operate the said support moving means and the filler advancing means in timed relationship to one another.

6. To feed fillers into book covers, apparatus comprising in combination a cover magazine capacitated to receive covers in super-posed relationship with one leaf and the hinge overlying the other leaf, spaced supports to supportcovers by engagement one by the lowermost cover at its extending part of its said one leaf and the other at a part other than the said one leaf, means to advance fillers past the magazine in sequence below it, means to move the said other support out of supporting position to permit the hinge and the other leaf to fall from the magazine and means responsive to the absence of a filler to render the said support moving means inoperative.

7. To feed fillers into book covers, apparatus comprising in combination a cover magazine capacitated to receive covers in super-posed relationship with one leaf and the hinge overlying the other leaf, spaced supports to support covers by engagement one by the lowermost cover at its extending part of its said one leaf and the other at a part other than the said one leaf, means to advance fillers past the magazine in sequence below it, means to move the said other support out of supporting position to permit the hinge and the other leaf to fall from the magazine and into the path of an advancing filler, and

means to impede movement of the cover from the I magazine under the urge of the advancing filler.

8. Apparatus comprising in combination a magazine capacitated to receive book-covers in superposed relation with one leaf and the hinge overlying the other leaf, two spaced supports to hold the lowermost cover, one support engaging the cover by the overlapping part of its said one leaf and the other support engaging the cover at a part other than the said one leaf, means to move the said other support intermittently into and out of supporting position to free the hinge and the other leaf and means to move a filler between the freed hinge and other leaf on the one hand and the said one leaf on the other hand the said filler moving means including a pusher to abut the filler and a hold down blade to penetrate between pages of the filler.

9. Apparatus comprising in combination a magazine capacitated to receive book-cover in superposed relation with one leaf and the hinge overly- '15 ing the other leaf, two spaced supports to. hold the lowermost cover,: one support engaging the cover by the overlapping part of its said one leaf and the other support engaging the cover at a part other than the said one leaf, a feed table below'the magazine, means to move the said other support intermittently into and out of supporting position to free the hinge and the other leaf to cause the other leaf to pass to the feed table, and

means-to advance a filler along the feed table and'between. the said one-leaf and the other leaf and-up to the hinge of the cover, the said filler moving means including a pusher to abut the filler and a hold down. blade to penetrate'between pages of thefiller.

10. To feed fillers into book covers, apparatus comprising in combination a cover magazine capacitatedto receive covers in-super-posed relationship with one leaf" and the hinge overlying the other leaf, spaced supports to support covers by engagement one by the lowermost cover at its extending part of its said one leaf and the other at a part other than the said one leaf, means to advance fillers past the magazine in sequence below it, means to move the said other support out of supporting position to permit the hinge and the other leaf to fall from the magazine and means responsive to the absence of a filler to render the said support moving means inoperative the said filler moving means including a pusher to abut the filler and a hold down blade to penetrate between pages of the filler.

11. A machine to feed fillers in book-covers the said machine comprising in combination, a feed table, an endless conveyor to move a series of filler advancing devices in sequence along the feed table, a magazine disposed over the feed table and capaoitated to receive book-covers in superposed relationship with one leaf and the hinge of the covers overlying the other leaf, a first control ledge to engage the uppermost leaf of the lowermost cover by its part extending beyond the other leaf below it, a second control ledge to engage the said other leaf of the cover, means to move intermittently the second control ledge to free the said other leaf whereby the said lowermost cover drops to the table in the path of an advancing filler.

12. A machine to feed and secure fillers in book-covers the said machine comprising in combination a feed table, conveyor means to advance fillers in succession along the table, a magazine supported above the table to receive covers in superposed relationship, a ledge to hold the covers in the magazine and movable to cause one leaf of the lowermost cover to pass to the feed table in the path of an advancing filler, an adhesive distributing device to apply adhesive to the fillers as they pass towards the zone of the e. magazine and pressure rollers driven by the machine to apply pressure to the leaves of the covers drawn from the magazine.

13:A machine to feed and secure fillers in book-covers the said machine comprising in combination a feed table, means to advance fillers in succession along the table, a magazine to receive covers in superposed relationship, a ledge to hold the covers in the magazine and movable to release one leaf of the lowermost cover and permit it to pass to the feed table in the path of an advancing filler, means responsive to the absence of a filler in the sequence of filler to prevent release of the said lowermost cover, means to apply adhesive to the fillers as they pass towards the zone of the magazine and means to apply pressure to the leaves of the covers drawn from the magazine.

14. A machine to feed and secure fillers in book-covers, the said machine comprising in combination a feed table, pushers to advance fillers in succession along the table the said pushers having a surface to abut the filler and a penetrating blade to enter'between pages of the filler and hold the filler to the table, a magazine to receive covers in superposed relationship, means to cause one leaf of the lowermost cover to pass to the feed table in the path of advancing fillers, means to apply adhesive to the fillers as they pass towards the zone of the magazine and means to apply pressure to the leaves of the covers drawn from the magazine.

15. In combination a magazine to hold book covers in superposed relation, a feed table disposed below the magazine, means to advance fillers in succession along the feed table, means to release the lowermost leaf of the lowermost cover in the magazine to permit it to pass to the feed table in the path of an advancing filler, means to apply adhesive to the fillers as they move towards the magazine, and means to prevent the release of a cover from the magazine in the absence of an advancing filler.

JOHN ALBERT EDWARD BURLS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Rau Sept. 11, 1945 

